FULL RELEASE
LAST WEEK: After a two week layoff, the Marauders ended 2012 with a bang. U-Mary dominated Dakota State on their way to a 71 point win. U-Mary had three players set or tie career-highs in scoring. Kaitlyn Haag finished with 22 points, followed by Britney Dietz with 21 and Taylor Luke with 18. All 18 of Luke's points came from beyond the arc where she was a perfect six for six.
This weekend the Marauders will look to extend their three game winning streak as they head to Minnesota to take on St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.
RECENT HISTORY: U-Mary has won the last three match-ups and four of the last five with St. Cloud State. U-Mary and UMD have split each of the past two seasons.
BOMBS AWAY: With 8.4 three-point field goals per game the Marauders average the 13th most in the country. U-Mary has attempted 20 or more three pointers in nine of their 11 games this season. One of the two game in which they did not attempt 20 was in their 14 of 19 effort against Dakota State. During their current three game winning streak U-Mary has made 10 or more shots from beyond the arc in each game. On the season the Marauders are 6-0 when they make 10 or more three-point field goals. In U-Mary's eight wins they have shot 48 percent from deep, but in their three losses have shot just 25 percent.
DEAD EYE: McKenzie Foster has shot lights out for the Marauders over the past three games with her most notable performance coming against Bemidji State. Against BSU Foster nailed eight of 11 attempts from deep in the first half setting career-highs in three-point field goals and points (24). Over the past three game Foster is shooting 13 of 21 (.621) from beyond the arc.
SIXTH WOMAN: It appears as though red-shirting Britney Dietz last year has paid dividends this year for the Marauders. Despite not starting a game this year Dietz is playing the third most minutes and has scored the fourth most minutes on the team. Dietz' versatility has allowed Head Coach Rick Neumann to play her in multiple positions increasing her value even further.
500 (Knife): With 484 rebounds in her career, Shaunna Knife is looking to become just the 13th player in Marauders history with 500 career rebounds. With 810 career points Knife is eight points away from passing Roberta Fred and moving into the top 25 all-time scorers for U-Mary.
REBOUNDING: After being limited to just 11 minutes and attempting just two shots against Minnesota Crookston, Kaitlyn Haag bounced back against Dakota State notching a career-high in points with 22. Haag made nine of her 11 attempts good for the Marauders best shooting percentage (min 8 fgm) since Nicci Landeck's 12-14 performance against Bemidji State in the 2007-08 season.
HEATING UP: After an up and down first five game to the season Ali Collins appears to have heated up just in time for conference action. Averaging 11.4 points per game prior to the conference season, Collins has averaged 19.2 in the Marauders five Northern Sun games. Averaging 7.2 assists per game in NSIC play, Collins in leading the league.
COLLINS HONORED: On 12/17 Ali Collins was named NSIC Player of the Week for her efforts in wins over Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston. Collins averaged 21 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 6.5 steals, and one block. Shooting 48 percent from the field, Collins connected on 12 of 13 attempts from the free throw line. Running the point for the Marauders, Collins played all 40 minute against Bemidji State and 36 minutes against Minnesota Crookston. This was the first time a U-Mary player has won since Rachel Zilmer in 2009.
LOCAL TALENT: Six of U-Mary's 12 players this season hail from North Dakota. Those six players includes the Marauders top two scorers in Shaunna Knife (Bottineau) and Ali Collins (Mandan). Also among those six are U-Mary's top three reserve players in Britney Dietz (Beach) Kelsey Peltier (Bottineau) and Lindsay Sand (Steele). Redshirt freshman Nicole Carew (Fargo) rounds out the group.
St. Cloud is off to an impressive 4-1 conference start (8-1 overall). SCSU is fifth in the NSIC scoring 71 points per game, but is second in the league in scoring margin at +14.0. SCSU is leading the league with 66 steals. The Huskies defense is keyed by senior Amanda Wagner. Wagner was named NSIC All-Defensive Team last season and is second in the Northern Sun, behind Ali Collins, with 3.4 per game. Offensively the Huskies are lead outside by G Sam Price's 15.4 p/g and inside by Jessica Benson's 15.8 p/g. SCSU's only loss this season came at the hands of Northern State (62-51).
UMD: Sitting at 3-2 in NSIC play and 6-3 overall, the Bulldogs have also relied on defense. With 11.6 steals/game, UMD is second behind only SCSU. The Bulldogs are led by a pair of junior forwards in Katrina Newman and Hannah Rutten. Each is averaging over 14 points and 8 rebounds on the season. Last season Newman was named All-NSIC First Team. UMD's two conference losses came against St. Cloud State in the beginning of December and most recently against Northern State (72-42).
Next week U-Mary will be back at home as they host Winona State and Upper Iowa. The Marauders defeated both teams last year when they faced off in Bismarck.
